RSS
Hezbollah Twists Western Ideas and Values — and the Media Helps Them
Supporters of Hezbollah attend a protest organized by them against what they said was a violation of national sovereignty, near Beirut international airport, Lebanon, Feb. 15, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Emilie Madi
In his recent speech, Hezbollah’s Secretary-General Naim Qassem demanded that Israel respect the ceasefire agreement and withdraw from southern Lebanon by February 18 (which Israel has done).
Qassem framed the issue as a matter of “national sovereignty” and condemned any delay as “implementing the demands of the occupation.”
Major media outlets — including Voice of America, France 24, ABC News, and Reuters — picked up his statements with little scrutiny.
These reports followed stories of a woman killed and several others wounded while trying to return to their villages on Sunday, February 16 — two days before the withdrawal deadline.
Voice of America, in the very last paragraph of its report (where fewer readers are likely to see it), mentioned that the Lebanese army had actually warned citizens not to enter areas where its troops had not yet deployed. None of these outlets included the IDF’s account, which stated that it had fired warning shots after spotting unidentified individuals gathering in a military zone.
The framing in these reports is unmistakable: civilians trying to return home, only to be killed and wounded by “occupation” forces poised to violate international agreements.
Meanwhile, Hezbollah — the supposed defender of the people — invokes “sovereignty.” It all fits neatly into a narrative designed to evoke sympathy from Western readers, making it easy to distinguish good (Hezbollah) from evil (Israel).
But here’s the reality: Hezbollah, designated as a terrorist organization in the US, much of Europe, and by many Arab countries, isn’t fighting for actual sovereignty or national independence. Anyone familiar with its history knows that Hezbollah exploits these concepts to justify its own armed control over Lebanon, all with the Iranian regime’s backing.
And despite its rhetoric about international agreements, it is Hezbollah that has systematically violated those very agreements.
Take UN Resolution 1701, for example.
Signed by Lebanon in 2006, it required all armed groups in the country to disarm, allowing only the Lebanese Armed Forces to possess weapons. Hezbollah never complied.
Instead, it amassed a vast arsenal, smuggling in weapons from Iran via Syria. Beginning on October 8, 2023, Hezbollah fired rockets at northern Israeli towns almost daily until Israel finally retaliated.
By November 2024, 45 Israeli civilians had been killed, over 60,000 residents had fled their homes, and countless businesses and farms were destroyed.
Yet Hezbollah isn’t the only one with a selective memory when it comes to international agreements. The UN has largely ignored Hezbollah’s blatant violations of Resolution 1701. No new resolutions have been passed calling on Lebanon to enforce it. Meanwhile, since the IDF entered Gaza in October 2023, Western media have meticulously covered Israel’s military operations. Hezbollah’s near-daily rocket attacks, which forced millions of Israelis into shelters, have been relegated to footnotes — if they’re mentioned at all.
After all, the media are far less interested in the casualties of the “oppressor.”
And what does Hezbollah’s version of “sovereignty” actually mean? In Europe, national sovereignty is understood as an expression of the people’s will, not the ability of armed militias to impose their rule.
Qassem himself made Hezbollah’s stance clear:
The problem is not that [Lebanese authorities] are ensuring the safety of civilians at a difficult time,” Qassem said. “The problem is that this is the implementation of Israel’s command. We are facing a real problem. Where is the national sovereignty? Are we employees of Israel, implementing the demands of the occupation?” [emphasis added]
In other words, Hezbollah sees protecting civilians as a concession to Israel. This isn’t about sovereignty — it’s about control.
Hezbollah’s authority is built on fear, and Western media, whether through omission or framing, keep providing it with cover.
The author is a contributor to HonestReporting, a Jerusalem-based media watchdog with a focus on antisemitism and anti-Israel bias — where a version of this article first appeared.
The post Hezbollah Twists Western Ideas and Values — and the Media Helps Them first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Hamas Members Suspected of Plotting Attacks Go on Trial in Germany
View of the courtroom as Judge Doris Husch presides over a trial for defendants accused of acting as foreign operatives for the Hamas terrorist group in Europe, in Berlin, Germany, Feb. 25, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Fabrizio Bensch
Four Hamas members suspected of plotting attacks on Jewish institutions in Europe went on trial in Berlin on Tuesday, in what prosecutors described as the first court case against terrorists of the Islamist group in Germany.
The Hamas members were detained in late 2023 on suspicion of planning attacks, German prosecutors said at the time.
“For the first time in Germany, suspects are facing charges of having participated as members of the foreign terrorist organization Hamas,” prosecutor Jochen Weingarten told Reuters.
He added the defendants were accused of seeking to locate a secret weapons depot in Poland for possible attacks, while receiving orders from the deputy commander of the Qassam Brigades in Lebanon.
According to previous statements by prosecutors, the defendants are also accused of operating other weapons caches in Europe.
The post Hamas Members Suspected of Plotting Attacks Go on Trial in Germany first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israel Looks to Extend Phase One of Gaza Truce as Long-Term Deal Proves Elusive
Israeli military jeeps maneuver in Gaza, amid a ceasefire between Hamas and Israel, as seen from the Israeli side of the border, Feb. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Amir Cohen
Israel is considering an extension of the 42-day truce in Gaza as it seeks to bring home the remaining 63 hostages, while putting off agreement on the future of the enclave for now, Israeli officials said.
The initial phase of the ceasefire deal, launched with the backing of the United States and the help of Egyptian and Qatari mediators on Jan. 19, is due to end on Saturday and it remains unclear what will follow.
“We are being very cautious,” Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Sharren Haskel told reporters in Jerusalem, when asked whether the truce might be extended without the start of talks on a second phase which would include difficult issues such as a final end to the war and the future governance of Gaza.
“There wasn’t a particular agreement on that, but it might be a possibility,” she said. “We didn’t close the option of continuing the current ceasefire, but in return for our hostages, and they have to be returned safely.”
If no agreement is reached by Friday, officials expect either a return to fighting or a freeze in the current situation in which the truce would continue but hostages would not return and Israel may block the entry of aid into Gaza.
Two officials who have been involved in the ceasefire process told Reuters that Israel and the Palestinian terrorist group Hamas have not engaged in negotiations to finalize an agreement over phase two of the ceasefire which will have to bridge wide gaps between the two sides to be concluded.
“I think it’s unrealistic to see something like that forming within a few days,” Haskel said. “This is something that needs to be discussed in depth. This is going to take time.”
The deal, which included the release of 33 Israeli hostages in return for some 2,000 Palestinian prisoners and detainees held in Israeli jails and the withdrawal of Israeli troops from some of their positions in Gaza, has survived numerous hiccups.
So far, 29 Israeli hostages – plus five Thais – have been released in exchange for hundreds of Palestinian prisoners and detainees, with the bodies of four more hostages, initially due to be handed over on Thursday, still to come.
There is now a standoff over the release of more than 600 Palestinians, which Israel has delayed, accusing Hamas of breaching the agreement by making a public show of the handover of Israeli hostages in Gaza.
Hamas official Basem Naim said progress could not be made while the prisoners were still being held but that Hamas was committed to a permanent ceasefire and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces.
Haskel said she hoped a solution would be found to secure the handover of the final four in the next few days.
WITKOFF DUE IN ISRAEL
Steve Witkoff, US President Donald Trump’s special Middle East envoy, is expected in Israel on Wednesday to continue discussions on the second stage, opening the way to a final end to the war in Gaza.
Negotiations over the second phase, intended to secure the release of the remaining hostages and the full withdrawal of Israeli forces from Gaza, had been meant to start this month, 16 days after the start of the truce.
Qatar’s prime minister flew to Florida on Feb. 6 and met Witkoff to discuss the “full implementation” of phase one and “to kick-start negotiations for the second phase,” according to an official briefed on the talks.
But officials in the ceasefire process say that so far none of the principal negotiators have met face to face since the first phase was agreed last month and there is little clarity on options for the “day after.”
“This is the day after Gaza, after the war in Gaza and what’s going to happen there, and so we are continuing that channel with the Americans,” Haskel said.
The fighting in Gaza was triggered by a Hamas-led attack on Oct. 7, 2023, in which Israel said about 1,200 people were killed and 251 were taken as hostages back to Gaza.
Israel responded with a military campaign aimed at freeing the hostages and dismantling Hamas’s military and governing capabilities in neighboring Gaza.
Israel has said Hamas cannot have any role in the future running of Gaza and has rejected a role for the Palestinian Authority.
Hamas has said it will not necessarily demand that it remain in charge of the enclave, which it has governed since 2007, but that it must be consulted.
Arab states, which are likely to have to shoulder much of the financial burden of rebuilding devastated Gaza, have been struggling to come up with a proposal of their own but are expected to demand a role for the Palestinian Authority.
Uncertainty increased after Trump proposed moving all the Palestinians out of Gaza to make way for a US waterfront development project, a plan that was endorsed by the Israeli cabinet but rejected by Arab states and Palestinians.
The post Israel Looks to Extend Phase One of Gaza Truce as Long-Term Deal Proves Elusive first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
RSS
Israeli Soccer Team Pays Tribute to Murdered Bibas Family With Special Orange Jerseys
A special jersey created by Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C. to honor Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas. Photo: Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv F.C./Instagram
The professional Israeli soccer team Bnei Yehuda Tel Aviv FC honored the late Shiri, Ariel, and Kfir Bibas, who were murdered by Hamas terrorists, by wearing special orange jerseys that featured their images during Monday night’s game
On the front of the bright orange jerseys was a drawing of Shiri, 32, hugging her two red-headed sons. All three family members were abducted from their home in Kibbutz Nir Oz in southern Israel by Hamas-led Palestinian terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023, held captive in the Gaza Strip, and then brutally murdered. Their names were written in Hebrew underneath the drawing on the jersey, which also had a Hebrew message on the front that said: “We will not forget, and we will not forgive.” Three black hearts appeared under the image of Shiri and her boys.
Additionally on the jersey was a special logo that Bnei Yehuda created for Shiri’s husband, Yarden Bibas, who was also kidnapped and survived Hamas captivity.
The team’s traditional logo is orange and features a standing lion that has one paw on a soccer ball and another paw holding a Star of David. In honor of the Bibas family, the team added to the lion’s chest an image of a ribbon that symbolizes a call for the return of all the hostages abducted by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023. Above the lion there was a message in English that read “We Will Never Forget,” and below the animal it read, “Bibas Family.”
“Bnei Yehuda is the orange group of Israel,” the team said in an Instagram post. “Our color symbolizes community, commitment, and family, and when the whole world was exposed to Ariel and Kfir’s ginger hair, the connection was instantaneous. Tonight, the color orange takes on an even deeper meaning — not only our identity, but also our way of remembering, honoring, and perpetuating.”
The club also announced that it will rename two teams in its youth department to further honor the Bibas children. The teams will be called “Bnei Yehuda — Kfir Bibs Tel-Aviv” and “Bnei Yehuda — Ariel Bibs Tel-Aviv.”
The team said, “As a club with a huge soul and heart, we decided to perpetuate the name of Ariel and Kfir in a way that will stay for generations.”
Eliran Oved, the manager of Bnei Yehuda, said the bright orange color of the jerseys “will always remind us to remember, not forget, and continue to embrace our community with genuine love.”
Bnei Yehuda players wore the special jerseys during Monday night’s game against Hapoel Ramat Hasharon. Bnei Yehuda won the game 2-0 and dedicated the victory to the Bibas family. Yarden Bibas later thanked the team for honoring his late wife and children with the special jerseys, saying it gave him “goosebumps” to see.
Ariel was 4 and Kfir was 10 months old when they were murdered in November 2023 during Hamas captivity, according to the Israel Defense Forces. They were held hostage in Gaza for 503 days, and their bodies were returned to Israel last week on Thursday. Hamas claimed they returned Shiri’s dead body that same day, but after the body’s return to Israel, forensic examination showed that it did not belong to her. Hamas turned over her real body to Israel on Saturday.
Forensics examination of Kfir and Ariel’s bodies revealed that Hamas terrorists killed the brothers “with their bare hands,” said IDF spokesperson Rear Adm. Daniel Hagari. “Ariel and Kfir Bibas were murdered by terrorists in cold blood,” Hagari explained. “The terrorists did not shoot the two young boys — they killed them with their bare hands. Afterwards, they committed horrific acts to cover up these atrocities.”
Abducted when he was 9 months old, Kfir was the youngest hostage kidnapped by terrorists from Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, and the youngest to have been killed. Shiri’s parents, Margit and Yosi, were also murdered by Hamas during their deadly rampage across southern Israel. Three generations were murdered by Hamas terrorists that day, as well as the Bibas family dog. Yarden was kidnapped but released by Hamas on Feb. 1 as part of a ceasefire agreement between the terrorist group and Israel. Sixty-three hostages are still being held by Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
The post Israeli Soccer Team Pays Tribute to Murdered Bibas Family With Special Orange Jerseys first appeared on Algemeiner.com.